Types of parquet: the features of choice

Wooden floors made from oak staves, which are the prototype of modern parquet, were able to do in the 16th century. Today, parquet is considered one of the main floor coverings. In general, for modern parquet there are quite high requirements in terms of production. So, not all trees of the tree are suitable for its production. The main requirements for the material are such parameters as wear resistance, reliability and hardness. The most suitable for the manufacture of parquet boards are red and black oak, ash, olive, camphor, acacia, cumaru and walnut.

Parquet is valued for the ability to keep heat, as well as for environmental friendliness and ease of care. However, the material "is afraid" of excess moisture in the room. The fact is that high humidity leads to deformation and loss of appearance. And most of all, the edges of the parquet boards are subject to wear. To increase the wear resistance, as an option, it is possible to make the wood denser and harder by pressing. Next, we will tell you more about the types and features of the parquet board.

Types of parquet

There are several types of parquet boards:

Piece parquet. Mounted fairly simple. This type of parquet is recruited from piece bars of a certain size. Their length is 20-60 cm, the width is 4-10 cm, and the thickness is about 15 mm. At the same time in each bar there are special longitudinal grooves and ridges, which allow to couple the parquet rails with each other during the installation of the floor. The material for this parquet is usually inexpensive wood species, for example, oak, cherry, ash, maple, acacia and walnut. Therefore, for a square meter in building stores on average ask from 20 to 60 dollars.

Parquet of this kind differs according to the patterns of sawing:

• Parquet of the brand "Universal" has a variety of ornament and small knots.
• The brand of parquet with alternating small knots is called "Natur".
• The "Classic" brand has an unusual parquet pattern reminiscent of the texture of the wood itself.
• Parquet of the brand "Select" has a homogeneous fine ornament.
• "Guest" - has a mixed cut with contrast.
• The brand of parquet with different colors of parquet boards is called "Antique".

If to compare a parquet board with sexual, at a parquet at end faces there is a dowel and a comb. In addition to the varnish layer that covers the surface of the parquet slats, they do not have additional protection providing rigidity. When properly used, this floor covering can last up to 80 years. To do this, at least it is required that the humidity in the room is not more than 30%.Piece parquet usually fits in the corridors or living rooms.

Assorted parquet. Refers to the types of panel shields. It is sometimes called a mosaic type of parquet. To assemble it, the slats are 400 × 400 mm or 600 × 600 mm. Combining the provisions of the parquet slats allows you to lay out a variety of drawings. This coating is usually laid on a concrete or wooden substrate using an adhesive. It can be fixed on a hard or soft base. Planks for the first option are made of expensive wood. At the same time, grooves and spikes are made in them. They provide a tight adherence of parquet strips to each other. Nails are used for fastening to the flooring. Parquet, the basis of which is a solid rack, quite difficult to manufacture, which was the reason for its rare use in recent times. Cheaper and easier in production is considered a set parquet, which is based on a soft rake. It has grooves on all sides, and laying is done by riveting.

There are parquet slats with an oblique edge. They have a slightly bevelled edge along the entire perimeter. There is also a kind of parquet with a rebate. He has special seams on all four sides. This kind of material is fixed with mastic. This floor covering is considered the most durable in its class. It should also be said that the characteristics of the composite parquet are similar to the features of the panel flooring. In this case, it has more variety in shades and textures.

Art parquet. The price of this material is quite high. This type of flooring is difficult not only in production, but also in the design plan. Therefore, this parquet belongs to the elite class. It is used for floor lining in art galleries, museums, large hotel complexes, etc. In order to produce this type of parquet, several types of wood are used, which differ in color and texture. Most often it is ash, oak( oak parquet), maple, as well as red and ebony. In order to put this type of flooring, a special scheme is prepared in advance, based on the area of ​​the room. Art parquet can boast of high performance properties. So, in particular, it is resistant to high humidity and temperature changes. The production of this parquet is similar to the production of a panel and a set floor covering. Its plates are often made of a rather complex shape. At the same time they are glued together and pressed together. An example of such a material is a two-component parquet.

Parquet boards. The technology of manufacturing this parquet has been around for a long time. The base of this flooring is made of boards or wood boards. The length and width of the boards can vary from 40 to 80 cm. At the same time, the thickness of the parquet is only 6-9 mm. In the production of this coating, wood strips are glued to the wood substrate, usually made of hardwood. Usually parquet slats of this kind are covered with several layers of lacquer still in the process of production. It is also worth noting that they are rather complicated in laying. The most important thing is to maintain a right angle. If this is not achieved, there will be cracks between the shields. The process does not facilitate even the presence of spikes and grooves in the structure. Due to the fact that the thickness of the parquet shields is small, they can be laid directly on the old covering.

Shielded parquet consists of three layers. In this case, the two lower layers are several fibers of wood, which are arranged perpendicular to each other. The upper layer is a piece of high-quality wood. In this case, its thickness is usually about 3-4 mm.

Several types of parquet boards are distinguished by types of foundation:

• One of them is a parquet with a frame base, which has a special strap around the perimeter. In this case, in the grooves of the strapping, so-called filler rods are fixed on each spike.
• In addition, there is a variety of parquet, in which the base is represented by two slats.

Parquet boards are still distinguished by the type of cladding. It can be from:

1. Rotary cut veneer.
2. Planed veneer.
3. Plywood.
4. Facing tiles.

All varieties of paneled parquet cover are similar in many respects to their characteristics. All of them are strong enough, but they are quite sensitive to various temperature changes. If you maintain a normal temperature regime, then this type of flooring can last up to 75 years. This type of parquet is best used in public areas where a constant temperature is kept, and the floor is under heavy loads. In addition, this flooring is suitable for the living room.

Material selection rules

First of all, you need to verify the availability of a certificate. You should ask the seller to provide you with this document before purchasing the parquet. The availability of the certificate guarantees the quality and durability of the material.

When choosing a material, you should pay attention to its cost. When calculating the cost of installing a parquet, summarize not only the price of the material, but also the cost of the work. It is possible that an economical version at first glance will cost more than the one that seemed to you, at first glance, expensive. It should be borne in mind that in addition to the most parquet flooring, a varnish and a substrate are required. All this - additional financial costs. Therefore, sometimes it is more profitable to overpay, but to buy parquet in finished form, and not to purchase related materials separately and perform additional work.

Also, when selecting, you need to provide a criterion such as humidity. For natural parquet it is approximately 10%.In order to measure the level of humidity, you will need special equipment and some skills. But this is not necessary. It is enough to learn from the seller the moisture content of the material you are interested in. If the value of this parameter exceeds 10-11%, then such material should not be bought. High-quality parquet should be well dried. It's easy enough to check. To do this, tap on the bar. The dried parquet will hear a distinctive sonorous sound.

When choosing a parquet board, be sure to consider its geometry. To test this criterion, you can take two bars and fold them perpendicularly. All sides of the material must be flat.

When choosing a parquet, you need to make sure it is environmentally friendly. The safest material is bamboo. Another good option is cork parquet. Ecological parquet from other materials can be determined by smell. Quality wooden parquet should smell like wood. There should not be any smells of chemicals. If the smell of chemistry is present, then it is worth giving up such material.

Installation work

Preliminary material must be acclimatized in the room where it will be used. For this, the parquet should be held in unpacked form for 1-2 days. Then you can start work on laying the cover.

Installation:

1. First of all, you need to remove furniture, foreign objects and garbage from the room. In addition, you should remove old skirting boards and floor coverings. There should be a bare floor.
2. After this, you need to align the surface of the base. In the case of a concrete floor, a screed is used for this purpose.
3. When the screeds dry, you can start applying the primer. While the screed dries, prepare a sheet of plywood in advance, which must be cut into four parts. They will serve as a substrate. They should be attached to the base. This can be done with glue or mastic.
4. When the plywood is laid, it should be sanded.
5. After this you can start laying the floor covering. It should be said that these boards can be stacked in different directions, thus achieving various designs.
6. Installation should start from the wall. In the process, each strip is spread with glue and applied to the base. Additionally they are strengthened with the help of nails.
7. When the parquet board is laid, you need to sand the floor and varnish. The varnish is applied in several layers. It is best to use a spatula or roller. It is important that the next layer is applied only after the previous one has dried thoroughly. When this is done, we make the final touch - we mount the skirting in place.

Parquet: photo